A Ventura lawyer already facing LSD charges may be in more trouble for asking female job applicants to sign a contract allowing him to engage in "sexual acts, touching, lewd behavior, etc." Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury has confirmed that he will ask the State Bar to investigate the contract written by attorney Douglas Andrew Palaschak.

The county and its public attorneys union approved a contract this week that raises salaries for prosecutors, public defenders and child support lawyers to the level of the county's administrative lawyers over the next three years. Top public attorneys will make about $132,200 after getting raises of 4.75% the next two years and 3% the following year. During contract negotiations, the nearly 300-member San Bernardino County Public Attorneys Assn.

When attorney Jerome Goldfein took a contract to represent indigent clients in cases where the Orange County public defender's office had a conflict of interest, his logic was simple: Even though the county paid less than private defense work, Goldfein reasoned, he could count on the income. Until now.

As new groups scramble to consolidate power and patronage in Los Angeles County's small cities, the pushing and shoving usually takes place underneath public radar. One exception involves a pair of lawyers who, adversaries complain, have not exactly been using the good government handbook. The lawyers, Stanford-educated J. Arnoldo Beltran and Harvard-trained H.

In his mounting attack on Republican Gov. Pete Wilson and Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren over Proposition 103 insurance rebates, Democratic Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi won a tentative round Wednesday: the right to choose his own lawyers. The day after he lost one ruling to a Wilson appointee, Garamendi won one. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Lucy Kelly McCabe ordered Lungren to renew Garamendi's contract with two outside attorneys. The two, Michael Jay Strumwasser and Fredric D.

There's nothing like the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history to get government moving in a hurry. No one knows that better than Deputy Public Defender Brian Ducker. For nearly a decade, Orange County considered creating a second, smaller branch of the Orange County public defender's office to save money by handling cases normally assigned to outside private attorneys.

Edward M. Rogers Jr., former chief personal deputy to White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu, Tuesday gave up a $600,000 contract to provide legal advice to a Saudi sheik who was a major shareholder in scandal-plagued Bank of Credit & Commerce International. Rogers, 33, landed the contract soon after leaving the White House last summer in what has proved to be an embarrassment to President Bush because of the appearance that Rogers might be trading on his White House influence.

The City Council this week renewed City Atty. Thomas W. Allen's contract, giving him a 2.4% increase in his hourly rates. Allen is paid a $2,000 monthly retainer for 18.78 hours of legal services each month. That includes attending council meetings. Under his new contract, Allen will receive $106.50 per hour for services beyond 18.78 hours, starting Sept. 1. Previously, Allen was paid $104 per hour, according to City Manager Robert C. Dunek.

In preparing to seek bids on an upcoming contract for city attorney, the La Puente City Council has agreed to review three years worth of legal bills from its present attorneys. Councilwoman Sally Holguin Fallon persuaded her colleagues this week to review the bills of the Los Angeles law firm Richards, Watson & Gershon, which has acted as the city's attorney since 1991. Holguin Fallon complained that the city's legal bills were higher than similar municipalities.

The county and its public attorneys union approved a contract this week that raises salaries for prosecutors, public defenders and child support lawyers to the level of the county's administrative lawyers over the next three years. Top public attorneys will make about $132,200 after getting raises of 4.75% the next two years and 3% the following year. During contract negotiations, the nearly 300-member San Bernardino County Public Attorneys Assn.

In preparing to seek bids on an upcoming contract for city attorney, the La Puente City Council has agreed to review three years worth of legal bills from its present attorneys. Councilwoman Sally Holguin Fallon persuaded her colleagues this week to review the bills of the Los Angeles law firm Richards, Watson & Gershon, which has acted as the city's attorney since 1991. Holguin Fallon complained that the city's legal bills were higher than similar municipalities.

Attorney Michael Gatzke will continue representing the county in three lawsuits challenging the conversion of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station to a commercial airport despite a symbolic protest vote Tuesday by two supervisors. Supervisor Tom Wilson, who angered some South County constituents for voting two weeks ago to confirm Gatzke's contract, unsuccessfully attempted to persuade his colleagues for a new vote.

Supervisor Todd Spitzer on Thursday urged hiring an independent counsel to determine whether county officials are violating state law by approving attorney contracts on the El Toro airport plan without informing the Board of Supervisors. Michael Gatzke, who is a partner in the Carlsbad-based firm Gatzke, Dillon & Ballance, represented the county on lawsuits filed by airport opponents last year challenging the adequacy of the county's draft environmental impact report.

Ending months of speculation over the future of Pasadena City Manager Philip A. Hawkey, the City Council has voted to extend his contract, which was due to expire in October. After council members met for an hour behind closed doors with Hawkey and his attorney late Monday, Councilman Paul Little emerged to announce the council's 5-2 vote to approve the two-year extension, which he characterized as a show of confidence in Hawkey.

When attorney Jerome Goldfein took a contract to represent indigent clients in cases where the Orange County public defender's office had a conflict of interest, his logic was simple: Even though the county paid less than private defense work, Goldfein reasoned, he could count on the income. Until now.

There's nothing like the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history to get government moving in a hurry. No one knows that better than Deputy Public Defender Brian Ducker. For nearly a decade, Orange County considered creating a second, smaller branch of the Orange County public defender's office to save money by handling cases normally assigned to outside private attorneys.

Ending months of speculation over the future of Pasadena City Manager Philip A. Hawkey, the City Council has voted to extend his contract, which was due to expire in October. After council members met for an hour behind closed doors with Hawkey and his attorney late Monday, Councilman Paul Little emerged to announce the council's 5-2 vote to approve the two-year extension, which he characterized as a show of confidence in Hawkey.

A Ventura lawyer already facing LSD charges may be in more trouble for asking female job applicants to sign a contract allowing him to engage in "sexual acts, touching, lewd behavior, etc." Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury confirmed Thursday that he will ask the State Bar to investigate the contract written by attorney Douglas Andrew Palaschak.

The City Council this week renewed City Atty. Thomas W. Allen's contract, giving him a 2.4% increase in his hourly rates. Allen is paid a $2,000 monthly retainer for 18.78 hours of legal services each month. That includes attending council meetings. Under his new contract, Allen will receive $106.50 per hour for services beyond 18.78 hours, starting Sept. 1. Previously, Allen was paid $104 per hour, according to City Manager Robert C. Dunek.

Edward M. Rogers Jr., former chief personal deputy to White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu, Tuesday gave up a $600,000 contract to provide legal advice to a Saudi sheik who was a major shareholder in scandal-plagued Bank of Credit & Commerce International. Rogers, 33, landed the contract soon after leaving the White House last summer in what has proved to be an embarrassment to President Bush because of the appearance that Rogers might be trading on his White House influence.